12-Year-Old Uses Make-A-Wish to Feed His Community

Makenzie Koch
·Intern

12-year-old Lucas Hobbs used his wish from the Make-A-Wish Foundation to serve food to his supportive community. (Photo: Facebook/Make-A-Wish Minnesota)

After months of chemotherapy and radiation therapy to treat stage III Hodgkin’s lymphoma, the Make-A-Wish Foundation asked 12-year-old Lucas Hobbs what he wanted his wish to be. Lucas had a heartwarming answer: to feed members of his community through free food trucks.

“When I was sick, people were so nice to me,” Lucas, of Eagan, Minn., tells Yahoo Parenting. “They brought me meals and cards and all sorts of things, so I decided that I wanted to do something to thank them. So I asked my mom and dad if I could use my wish to help others.”

Lucas was diagnosed with stage III Hodgkin’s lymphoma in January, and his cancer was declared in remission in March, although he continued treatment until April. He was further inspired by Chef — a movie about a father-son duo who operate a food truck. The name of his operation: ChefLucasFood.

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Lucas and several food truck companies served more than 1,000 people at Lucas’s church, in Eagan, Minn. (Photo: Facebook/Make-A-Wish Minnesota)

Make-A-Wish paired with the Minnesota Food Truck Association and several generous food truck companies for a six-stop tour, on which food will be given out for free.

Several generous food truck companies will visit six different organizations to give out free cupcakes, burgers, Italian food, and more. Lucas’s first stop earlier this month was his church, St. John Neumann Church, in Eagan, where more than 1,000 people showed up while Lucas helped serve. And on Monday, when he visited the Minneapolis Police Department, several dozen officers lined up.

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“The fact that there is somebody, anybody, much less a 12-year-old, that is so willing to give outward,” Minneapolis Police spokesman John Elder told the StarTribune, “I was honored on behalf of the department to help facilitate it.”

Lucas serves up food to officers from the Minneapolis Police Department. (Photo: Facebook/Make-A-Wish Minnesota)

“It feels really, really good to give back, and I feel great for what I am doing!” Lucas tells Yahoo Parenting.

Next Monday, Lucas plans to bring more food trucks to a senior citizen home, and on August 3, to the Minneapolis Children’s Hospital, where he received some of his treatment. He’ll also be visiting a homeless shelter and his school, though those visits have yet to be scheduled. You can follow along with the rest of Lucas’s food truck visits on Facebook.

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